Arts Council researches cultural engagement and infrastructure of England's towns

Arts Council England and the Centre for Towns are collaborating on a project to find out more about cultural infrastructure and engagement in towns across England.

Aiming to publish findings in autumn 2019, the organisations looks to fill the gaps of other studies which have traditionally skipped over cultural engagement in towns.

Paul Bristow, Director for Strategic Partnerships for ACE, said: "We need to know a lot more about participation and engagement with arts and culture in our towns. As well as getting under the skin of how economic and socio-demographic differences between places might affect with that." He added "...we risk missing a vital part of our national picture – our towns. Yet we know that there is so much happening. From rural market towns like Ludlow with its thriving Assembly Rooms, to Grimsby, which is looking to build a strong creative future through investment from the Cultural Development Fund."